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Security Council Ends Mandatory Scrutiny Of Burundi Citing May Elections

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The United Nations Security Council on Monday struck Burundi off its political agenda citing peaceful elections recently conducted in the country.

In a statement presented by South African president Cyril Ramaphosa, the 15-member body said the broadly peaceful elections had marked a new phase for central African country.

South Africa holds the Council’s presidency for December. The development means Burundi is close to ending nearly six years of international isolation.

In a statement aired on the state broadcaster government spokesman Prosper Ntahorwamiye said, Burundi has received, with joy, the noble decision taken by the UN Security Council of withdrawing Burundi from its political agenda.

The government of Burundi had stated on many occasions that the country no longer posed a threat to regional peace and security, and demanded that the Security Council end its mandatory reporting on Bujumbura.

In May, Burundi held a presidential election which was won by Evariste Ndayishimiye, candidate of the ruling National Council for the Defense of Democracy – Forces for the Defense of Democracy (CNDD-FDD) party.

The Council encouraged donor countries which had suspended aid to Burundi to continue dialogue towards resumption of development assistance.

A report by a UN watchdog in September said human rights violations were still being committed in Burundi, including sexual violence and murder.

Senegal Court Jails Three Fathers For Pushing Sons To Migrate To Europe

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A Senegalese court on Tuesday handed down jail terms to three fathers accused of pushing their sons to migrate to Europe by sea, sending them on a trip that left one of them dead.

Defence lawyer Assane Dioma Ndiaye said the trio were given two-year jail terms, 23 months of which were suspended, on a charge of “placing the lives of others in danger.

Ndiaye added they were acquitted of the charge of abetting migrant trafficking in a high-profile case.

The sons were with other migrants who boarded a canoe to make the crossing from Senegal to Spain’s Canary Islands, the first step in a plan to reach continental Europe.

But one of them, a teenager nicknamed Doudou, fell ill and died during the trip. His father had paid 250,000 CFA francs ($460) to a smuggler, who was to take the boy to Spain. His destination after that was Italy, where he hoped to sign up for a football training academy.

The fathers of the three, all of them fishermen in the coastal town of Mbour, were arrested a couple of weeks later.

Over 500 people have died this year, mostly in October and November, according to the UN’s International Office for Migration (IOM), compared to 210 fatalities for the whole of last year.

The pressure to migrate is especially strong among fishing communities. Coastal villages in Senegal have been badly hit by dwindling catches, and by the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

AFCON 2021: Gambia Fined For Letting Gabonese Team Sleep On Airport Floor

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Gambia has been fined $100,000 for the unsporting reception accorded to the visiting Gabonese national team in November.

In its ruling published on Tuesday, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) berated the hosts for non-compliance “with the loyalty, Integrity and sportsmanship values and rules of Fair Play”.

A fine of $100,000 USD (One Hundred Thousand US Dollars) was imposed on the Gambian federation out of which $50,000 (Fifty Thousand US Dollars) is suspended on the condition that the federation is not found guilty of a similar offense within a period of twenty-four months.

The Gabon delegation were reportedly told they were not allowed to leave the airport because of an administrative problem and were forced to sleep on the floor before being allowed to leave in the morning after government intervention.

The incident garnered global attention after Arsenal captain and Gabon international Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang tweeted about it.

CAF also fined the Gabonese football federation $10,000 for ‘offensive and degrading material that undermines the honor and image of the Confederation of African Football’ published by Aubameyang.

Gambia and Gabon are in drawn in Group D along with Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

ASUU promised to call off strike today, December 9

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The Federal Government has claimed the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) had promised to call off their nine-month-old strike before Wednesday, December 9.

This was contained in a statement from the media office of the Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, on Tuesday.

Ngige insisted the government has delivered on offers made to ASUU.

The Minister was reacting to claims made by ASUU President, Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi, that the government has failed to deliver on offers it made to them.

Ogunyemi had made it clear the lecturers would not return to classes until their salary arrears were paid. 

Ngige has, however, claimed ASUU agreed at their last meeting on November 27 to call off the strike.

“The truth of the matter is that a ‘gentleman agreement’ was reached at the last meeting in which ASUU agreed to call off the strike before December 9, 2020.

“And the minister, in turn, agreed that once the strike is called off, he would get a presidential waiver for ASUU to be paid the remainder of their salaries on or before December 9,” Ngige said

He added that, “the N40b Earned Academic Allowances have also been processed just as the N30bn revitalisation funds, bringing it to N70bn. Likewise, the visitation panels for the universities have been approved by the President but the panel cannot perform its responsibilities until the shut universities are re-opened.”

Ngige also revealed that lecturers were paid for February and March, before an extension was made to the months of April, May and June when they were already on strike, “on compassionate ground”.

Nigeria’s COVID-19 cases rise to 550, highest in 15 weeks

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Nigeria hit a major record on Tuesday with over 550 new positive samples of COVID-19 cases confirmed, the highest daily count in the past 15 weeks.

The last time the daily count was over 550 was on August 22, when 601 infections were confirmed.

The Tuesday figure is a significant increase over the past 24 hours, as 390 cases were recorded on Monday.

With the new cases, the country’s total count of coronavirus infections has now surpassed 70,000.

According to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), 550 new cases were confirmed in 16 states and the federal capital territory (FCT) on Tuesday.

Lagos, which recorded less than 100 cases on Monday, was top of the list with 219 new infections, followed by FCT with 168, and Kaduna with 52.

Meanwhile, the country’s recovery count has now exceeded 65,000 with 163 patients discharged on Tuesday.

One person was, however, confirmed to have died of COVID-19 complications, increasing the toll to 1,182.

Out of 70,195 cases recorded across the 36 states and the FCT, 65,110 people have recovered, while the number of active infections has now increased from 3,517 to 3,903 within 24 hours.

FCT takes the lead with 1,170 active cases, followed by Lagos with 707, while Kaduna now has the third-highest figure with 355 infections.

Supreme Court Gives Dec. 9 Deadline In Congressman’s Bid To Upend Pennsylvania election Results

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The U.S. Supreme Court moved up a key deadline Sunday for Pennsylvania officials to respond to a last-minute bid by one of President Donald Trump’s top boosters in Congress to decertify the state’s elections results.

Previously, Associate Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr., who oversees emergency matters arising out of Pennsylvania for the court, had given state election administrators until Wednesday to file their response to the appeal from U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly (R., Butler), who has argued that Pennsylvania’s vote-by-mail law is unconstitutional and that every mail ballot cast in the state should be thrown out.

But on Sunday, Alito moved up the schedule in Kelly’s case by a day, ordering state officials to respond by 9 a.m. Tuesday, instead.

The difference of just a day is significant, given that the previous deadline of Wednesday fell one day after what is known as the “safe harbor date,” the federal cutoff date for states to resolve any remaining election disputes and lock in their slate of electors for the Dec. 14 Electoral College vote.

UN Resolution Urges Russia To Withdraw From Crimea

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The UN General Assembly on Tuesday adopted a resolution calling on Russia to end its occupation of Crimea and to withdraw from Ukraine.

“It urges the Russian Federation, as the occupying Power, to immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw its military forces from Crimea and end its temporary occupation of the territory of Ukraine without delay,” the UN said in a statement on the nonbinding resolution.

The representative of Ukraine who introduced the related text said that by occupying Crimea, Russia is violating international law, and threatening “peace and security well beyond the Black Sea region.”

In the meantime, the Russian side called the text “politicized” and added that Crimean people had decided their future via a referendum.

Russia and Ukraine have been at loggerheads since 2014 when Russia annexed Crimea after a controversial referendum.

Turkey as well as the UN General Assembly viewed the annexation as illegal.

Ukraine has also blamed Russia for separatist violence in eastern Ukraine near the border with Russia.

The resolution on the militarization of the peninsula of Crimea, the port of Sevastopol and parts of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov was adopted by 63 countries, with 17 voting against and 62 abstaining.

The resolution is non-binding but has political significance. It was put forward by 40 countries, including Britain, France, Germany and the Baltic states, as well the United States, Australia, Canada and Turkey.

NIDCOM Hails Apex Bank Over Diaspora-Friendly Forex Policy

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The Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) on Tuesday commended the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for its new policy to grant unfettered access to Foreign Exchange (Forex) on Diaspora Remittances.

Chairman/Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NiDCOM, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, gave the commendation while hosting the first Honorary Consul of Columbia to Nigeria, Mrs Maricel Cantillo, who visited the Commission in Abuja.

A statement by NiDCOM’s Head of Media and Public Relations, Abdur-Rahman Balogun, quoted her as saying that Nigerians in the Diaspora were excited with the policy which would ultimately impact positively on the Diaspora remittances and Investments in Nigeria.

Dabiri-Erewa added that the commission had already set up a process for the Nigerian Diaspora Investment Trust Fund.

She also said that beneficiaries of remittances by Nigerians in the Diaspora would get their money in the currency of transmission rather than in Naira.

She advised them to patronise registered Bureau de Change in operation and urged the CBN to reduce the levies charged by International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs) on remittances, with that of Nigeria being the highest in the world.

Dabiri-Erewa said she was happy to receive Columbia’s first honorary consul to Nigeria, noting that it was an opportunity to engage Nigerians in Columbia and Colombians in Nigeria to deepen cultural and trade relations.

Responding, Cantillo, who expressed excitement at being the first Honorary Colombia Consul to Nigeria, said she believed that would strengthen the ties between both countries.

Boris Johnson To Meet EU Chief In Bid To Save Trade Deal

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UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson will travel to Brussels later this week to meet European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in a last-ditch bid to reach a post-Brexit trade deal.

It comes after a 90-minute phone call between the two leaders on Monday failed to produce a breakthrough.

In a joint statement, they said the conditions for a deal were “not there”.

“Significant differences” remained on fishing, business competition rules and governance of any deal, they added.

“We asked our chief negotiators and their teams to prepare an overview of the remaining differences to be discussed in a physical meeting in Brussels in the coming days,” the leaders said.

BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg said Wednesday or Friday appeared the “most likely” dates.

Labour welcomed the decision to keep talking, but shadow Cabinet Office minister Rachel Reeves said the prime minister should have been “more engaged in these negotiations months ago rather than leaving it to the 11th hour”.

You never really believed even when you answered Pastor – Pastor Chris tells Covid-19 compliant Pastors

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Renowned Tele-evangelist and President of Loveworld also known as Christ Embassy Rev Chris Oyakhilome DSC. DD has flayed Church leaders who compromised and agreed to shut their churches as a result of the covid-19 scare, saying they never believed even when they answered the Pastoral call.

He made the submission recently at a ministry meeting, the Global communion service.

During the discussion segment were he fields questions and treats contemporary issues bordering on prophesy and the body of Christ.

Speaking to a captivated audience, Pastor Chris questioned the rationale behind the closure of Churches by government and the compromise amongst those who were meant resist the falsehood from the covid-19 protagonists.

“How could you leave Jesus solutions for the world solutions? Jesus Christ told us what to do with diseases or sicknesses. If you weren’t targeting the church why don’t you ask those with enough faith to still go to church? You never really believed even when you answered pastor!”

He admonished them never to betray their faith by obeying the world’s prescriptions.

“Jesus told us how to deal with public health. Never again give up Jesus instructions for the world’s prescriptions”

Pastor Chris, who has been vocal about the deceit of covid-19 throughout the lockdown with online broadcasts of YourLoveworld Specials, exposed the Corona virus as a fiasco and went on to share the agenda behind.

We’ve come to a climatic point. No turning back. What the world is facing today is a group of economic globalists… Don’t believe what the media is saying… These globalists are admirers of the Chinese model. The so called one world economy is not different from the Chinese communist party great leap forward of the 1950s”

He sighted that the leap forward cost lives and this was a closely guarded secret by the Chinese whose model the globalist intended to replicate.

“45 million people died as a result of the great leap forward… It’s about collectivisation. Forfeiture of personal properties for the government. In a sense, everyone is a property of the government. Rationing food… The drive for industrialisation and mechanisation… The deaths were planned. They wanted smaller population”

using scripture to buttress his point the man of God also encouraged the congregation that this was the time of the church and it would continue to thrive regardless of opposition.

“The Church will not go under. We can’t go under or into hiding. We didn’t come this far to give up what God gave us. Many ministers laboured what we have. The right to worship and preach the gospel everywhere.

It cost too much. We will go to heaven and thank those saints of God. Not to say we were sorry that we lost what they laboured for and gave us” 

Listening with rapt attention he declared that the church would not buckle but would use everything in its arsenal to overcome the enemy.

“We will believe and pray like anybody in the Bible. Except we win. It’s not over. We will not bend or break” 

Pastor Chris has provided much needed leadership and guidance to billions especially in these times of hopelessness and despair.

Inspite of government restrictions on churches, his online ministry has continued to thrive with a broadcast of over eighty episodes of YourLove world specials during the lockdown to an unprecedented 3.5 billion people.